alvin and the chipmunks

Not sure why the first season of 'Sports Night' is being released again. Actually, the series has been released as "Complete Series" packages twice now (there were only two seasons), and the 10th Anniversary edition is still available so I'm not sure what 'Sports Night' fan would spend money on the first season alone. It doesn't look like there's anything on it that you can't get on the other set.

I'll admit, I watched a lot of Alvin and the Chipmunks when I was little, despite all its awkward 80s animation tendencies and general pointlessness. I even kind of liked it. When the Chipettes joined the gang, bringing even more high-pitched sass, I felt no need to cry shark-jumping (probably because the phrase had yet to be coined and I hadn't gotten to that Happy Days episode).

How can there be so many DVDs released in one day and there not be one that I want to buy? I never got into Stargate, I don't want to own Dallas on DVD, ditto Reba, and I refuse to buy Walker Texas Ranger because a.) it's not very good, and b.) it replaced a show that I really loved in the early 90s. I enjoyed Benny Hill, but I don't know if I enjoyed it enough to own it. So it looks like I'm going to save some money this week.

Yeah, right. Like I won't find something to buy that was released a while ago.

He writes, "I'm trying to get the name of a cartoon from the late 50's or early 60's. It had two characters who -- at least in my memory -- remind me of Penn and Teller. The one character was tall and bombastic, the other was shorter and never spoke- although he would whisper to the other character. I believe the smaller character was named Leonardo- but I wouldn't swear to it."

Ah, Christmas music. A lot of people hate it. Those people are called "Scrooges."

I love Christmas music. The classic stuff, that is. Sinatra, Clooney, Como, instrumental music. If I hear Bruce Spingsteen's "Santa Claus is Coming To Town" or anything by Mariah Carey or U2 or McCartney or any rock band (though I love "Jingle Bell Rock," "Christmas Wrapping," and Darlene Love, which are all great), I'll strangle an elf, I swear.

After the jump I've posted many classic moments from TV specials and Christmas episodes of shows. You'll find everything from Dean Martin to a classic soda commercial and even a part of the male anatomy, placed in a square receptacle.

Jason Lee, star of My Name is Earl, also has another career apart from television: crapping all over my childhood memories. Lee will not only provide the voice of Underdog in the upcoming live-action feature based on the beloved children's cartoon, but has also joined the Alvin and the Chipmunks movie as Dave Seville, the human "father" to Alvin, Simon and Theodore (the Chipmunks will be computer generated). Seville was the stage name of songwriter and performer Ross Bagdasarian, who first used the sped-up voice technique on his song "The Witch Doctor" and later used the same technique for his Chipmunk records.

The film is being produced by Ross Bagdasarian, Jr. and his wife Janice Karman. Tim Hill, director of the second Garfield feature film, will direct.

Television and comic book writer Mark Evanier found a very cool animated commercial for Soaky bubblebath featuring Alvin and the Chipmunks, which you can view after the jump. Like a lot of YouTube videos, the soundtrack is not exactly in sync, but whatever, it's still a fun and cool retro commercial. I don't think I've ever heard of Soaky, though. According to Evanier, the voice of the kid in the commercial is Dick Beals, who also appeared in a more famous commercial campaign as the voice of Speedy Alka-Seltzer. Anyway, check out the video, and see how much fun it can be to bathe with woodland creatures at an amusement park in full public view.

Recently I mentioned that an episode of Prison Break used the song "Teardrop" by Massive Attack during a montage. It just so happens that "Teardrop" is also the theme to another FOX program, House. Taking this concept to the next level, TVgasm asks what it would be like if segments of other programs began to use songs from other TV shows. They have a hilarious clip featuring a few scenes, including one from 24, and footage of a convoy being attacked in the Sudan which doesn't seem quite as scary with the Alvin and the Chipmunks theme playing over it. Anyway, you should check it out. Meanwhile, I'll be kicking myself for not thinking of this idea first.